To Get Your Goals You Have to Ask the Right Questions

“A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”—George Patton

Ted and his girlfriend, Tina, were two young chiropractors building their lives and their businesses together. Cheerful, upbeat, and fun, they enrolled in my workshop in order to get clarity and focus on their financial goals. They mentioned that they knew one of the best ways to expand their business would be to buy another existing medical practice. I congratulated them on their astute reasoning, as it is often much easier and faster to buy a business than to build one patient by patient on their own. They asked me to keep a lookout for a business they might buy.

As often happens when a goal is clearly stated, a plan mapped out, and then presented to people who might assist with its accomplishment, it wasn’t long before a friend of mine, Ken, who owned a holistic medical center told me he wanted to sell his practice. He was delighted when I told him I might have a buyer! Excited at the prospect of helping three people achieve their goals by playing matchmaker, I couldn’t wait to tell Ted and Tina when they came to see me that afternoon.

“How much money does he want for it?” was the first question Tina asked.

“$250,000,” I replied.

“That’s too much money!” She exclaimed. “Forget it.”

“Wait a minute,” I interrupted. “You have asked the wrong question, didn’t like the answer and now you’re about to reject this deal without investigating further!” (In AA circles, they call this “contempt prior to investigation.”)

Tina paused. “Yeah, but we can’t afford $250,000,” she started to say, then caught herself as I shook my head and reached for a “No Yeah, but” button. “Okay,” she laughed, “What’s the right question?”

“The most important question is not how much it costs, but how much money does the business make,” I replied. “If the business generated $35 million per year, you’d find a way to come up with $250,000 wouldn’t you? Because that would be a fabulous profit for you.” Tina and Ted laughed. “You’re right about that!” Ted said. “And maybe we could make payments over time or get a loan to purchase the business outright. Give us Ken’s number and we’ll look into this further.”

Although this particular deal did not materialize, Tina and Ted learned the importance of asking the right questions. How many times do we stop ourselves from going for our goals because we asked the wrong question or let an old belief or attitude convince us we couldn’t have it? It is a habit of thought that begins “That won’t work because…” Replace that thought with “How can I make this work?”

Ah, I remember that conversation back in the 90s so well. And I’ve had a zillion conversations like it in the years since.

Studies have shown that people are twice as afraid of losing their money as they are hopeful of gaining money. Most people look at the price of the thing they want first, and if it doesn’t fit comfortably within their budget (or what they think their budget is since most people don’t have a written budget), they just say no and don’t buy it. But some things that you want to buy, even if they’re expensive, are worth the investment because the pay-off they will create in the future justifies the expense now.

For example, most people understand that college is a worthwhile investment, even though it’s very expensive, because it will add many thousands of dollars to your future earning power. People are used to this evaulation and so even though making the investment in college may be difficult for their budget, it’s worth it for the future pay-off. People who sell high-priced goods and services need to be able to help their customers see the long-term value of making the investment in terms of future benefits. The difficulty is that when people feel insecure about their money, their fear of financial insecurity is heightened and it’s more difficult for them to place a bet on the future with money they have to spend today.

When these fears come up for your prospect, you’re going to hear them say, “I can’t right now”, “maybe”, “later”, “I’ll have to ask my (wife, husband, partner, accountant)”, “let me think about it”, “I don’t have the time”, “I don’t have the money”, etc.

If you know in your heart that what you have to offer will greatly benefit them in their lives, it’s your duty to coach them through the process so that they can visualize their future good AFTER they have benefited from your product or service and make the investment today that’s going to pay off in their greatly enhanced and enriched future.

So what are your counters to their objections? What are you going to say to convince them to spend money now for their future good? I’d love to hear your ideas! Please comment on what you do, what’s the most common objection to buying it, and what you say when your prospects raise that objection. We can all learn a lot from each other here!

Receive Daily Posts by Email

Find What You’re Looking For

Connect With Chellie

What People Are Saying

Jenee Dana

“I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to create your workshop and share it with us. The training...

2014-10-09T22:28:15+00:00

“I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to create your workshop and share it with us. The training I received in your workshop was incredible and the best thing I could have done as a brand new business owner because I am going to start my business the right way. And thanks for being you, because you give me permission to be me, and I love that.”—Jenee Dana, My Focus Book, LLC, 323-356-0420, ucla.jenee@ymail.com

http://www.chellie.com/testimonials/jenee-dana/

Jennifer Christianson

"I started reading Chellie's book and doing her affirmations about a year before I took her class. Prior to this...

2014-10-10T20:29:11+00:00

"I started reading Chellie's book and doing her affirmations about a year before I took her class. Prior to this I had many customers (30) that bid me out for each and every project (no quality customers). There was too much to manage and no continuity. A year later I had only 5 customers with regular monthly business and am billing more than double what I had in past years. Less stress, more money and a better life! Thank you Chellie for your help! My only mistake was not taking the class sooner!" — Jennifer Christianson, Account Executive, Transcontinental Direct, 310-937-2483

http://www.chellie.com/testimonials/jennifer-christianson/

Jack Molisani

"I took Chellie's Stress Reduction earlier this year and things went great — for awhile. While slogging through a particular...

2014-10-10T20:28:14+00:00

"I took Chellie's Stress Reduction earlier this year and things went great — for awhile. While slogging through a particular "effort-full" month I spotted I had stopped applying some of the principles in the workshop. So I decided right there to sign up for Chellie's follow-on workshop, and immediately made over $45,000 in commissions in the two weeks after I started. Coincidence? I think not!" — Jack Molisani, Lead Recruiter, ProSpring Technical Staffing, 888-378-2333 Ext. 2, www.ProSpring.net

http://www.chellie.com/testimonials/jack-molisani/

P. Hamilton

"Chellie's teachings, affirmations, words, workshop homework and, most importantly, her wisdom and fun-loving spirit helped shift old patterns and belief systems and revolutionize my life — above and beyond the finances.During her workshop, money flowed to me in increasing amounts even though Iwas starting up a new business at the time did not have a product to sell. I followed her homework suggestions and did the daily affirmations and my old programming about money dramatically shifted… money showed up in the form of unearned income: a reduction in my home and office rent, lowered rates through vendors and extra capital from investors--without asking. Even the right materials for my designs showed up in October--after a frustrating and exhaustive 1 1/2 year global search. But the most important shifts came through changes in my belief system which helped me build a solid foundation for my budding business. I am grateful to Chellie, her wit, smile and laughter--her gold shoes and magic wands. My business, my health, my wealth and I thank you! Take Chellie's workshop-- it will change your life! You will never fear your finances again!" — P. Hamilton, P. Hamilton Design

http://www.chellie.com/testimonials/p-hamilton/

Moira Shepard

"I have to tell you this is the most fun workshop/class/seminar I've ever taken — and you know what a...

2014-10-10T20:25:54+00:00

"I have to tell you this is the most fun workshop/class/seminar I've ever taken — and you know what a seminar junkie I am. Besides getting a lot of great information and meeting wonderful people (Dolphins, as Chellie calls us), it's just a kick to spend time with one of the most enlightened and entertaining women I've ever met. One of the results I've gotten from the class: I'm about to pay off $24,000 of my $32,000 credit card debt (mostly from seminars, instructional books and CDs!). Another: I'm inspired to start my own coaching sessions and workshops. In my book, Chellie is a goddess! — Moira Shepard, Radio Host, 310-923-8551, www.TriumphOverTrauma.com